I came home from work one day and my son greeted (迎接) me at the door with a wide smile. “Dad, I am a _________ man!” Puzzled, I _________ my wife about this. She shared with me that our five-year-old son had emptied a 2-lilre jug (壶) of water from the _________ most of it on the floor. My wife's first _________ had been to shout and beat him. However, she did not. She _________ asked him, “Breton, what were you trying to do?"

“I was trying to help you _________ the dishes, Mum,” he replied loudly. Sure enough, she _________ a pile (摞) of dishes that had been washed on the kitchen table, “Well son, why did you use the water from the fridge? ” she further asked. Breton _________ that he couldn't reach the sink (洗涤槽). My wife began to _________ the situation better and her __________ disappeared. “What do you think you can do next time to make less of a mess?”

Breton's face __________ as he replied, “I could wash them in the bathroom.” My wife explained to him that the dishes might break in the bathroom and he should instead __________ her help. She then went on to clean up the __________ he had created.

As she finished describing the __________ to me, I realised how __________ it is to make a correct choice. If she had __________ her first reaction, she would not have been able to understand what he was trying to do and would have __________ a great teachable moment. In __________ situations, she would have had to clean up the mess, but with this __________ she was able to connect with him more effectively. More importantly, if she had shouted and beaten him, he would have greeted me at the door with a __________ look and said. “Dad, I am a bad boy! ”

My father was brought up in a fatherless home at a time when government assistance was unheard of. The family of five struggled hard to survive, which caused my father to be extremely_______with money.

When we children — two older brothers and_______— became_______that other children got money from their parents, we made the_______of asking father for some. His face turned stone cold. “If you’re old enough to ask, you’re old enough to_______.” he said. And so, when the_______arose, we went around the neighborhood seeking odd jobs or selling produce from the garden. His_______didn’t soften as we grew into adulthood and went away to jobs or college. There was a period of time when_______of us had a car, so we had to take the bus whenever we came home._______the bus stopped about two miles from home, Dad never met us, even in bad weather.

So every time I came home from college, I had to walk alone a long way. I also felt less than valued. My father didn’t seem concerned about my________. One spring evening that feeling was________.

After a hard week at college, tests and long hours in labs had left me________. I longed for home and a soft bed.________, the bus stopped at my destination point, and I________, dragging my suitcase to begin the long way home.

A row of hedge (树篱) edged the driveway climbing the hill to our house. I was always relieved to see the hedge________it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening, the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray in the distance skimming________the top of the hedge, moving toward the house.

Upon closer observation, I realized it was the top of my father’s head. At that moment I knew — each time I’d come home, he had stood behind the hedge, watching, until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against my tears. He did________ after all.

That spot of gray became my beacon (灯塔). I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. Upon reaching home, I would find my father sitting________ in his chair. “So! It’s you!” he’d say, his face lengthening into mock (假装的)________.

I replied, “Yes, Dad.________I’m home.”

It is just past five o’clock on the Chinese New Year’s Eve. The dinner table is already ________ with white china plates and bowls, full of all sorts of dishes. Luo Yan, ________ the cover of a large bowl to breathe in the ________ smell of the soup his wife and mother have prepared. His son, Bofeng, happily takes a ________ of the chicken his grandfather has already ________ for him.

Six-year-old Bofeng has not ________ his grandparents in person for almost a year, and he is full of joy and excitement. ________, the whole family could not be happier to be together. Despite (尽管) the ________ outside, their happy faces fill the air with warmth while merry ________ rings (环绕) throughout the house. The young couple and their son have settled in the ________ city. Every year, like most Chinese, they travel a long way back for the Spring Festival. It’s ________ for Chinese to get together to enjoy the joy of “three generations under the same roof” on this special day.

After, dinner, the whole family ________ around the television to watch the Spring Festival Gala, while eating snacks and ________ each other excitedly. In the warmth and ________ of the room, Luo Yan talks about his plan for the future. “I hope we won’t have to be separated again,” he says, looking at his ageing parents. “We’ll come back more ________. After all, home is where all family members are together.”